Monserud1999
Data contributor: John Marshall
Email: jdm@uidaho.edu
Address:
- Swedish Agricultural University, Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Skogmarksgränd, 90736 Umeå, Sweden
Citation: Monserud RA and Marshall JD (1999). 'Allometric crown relations in three northern Idaho conifer species.' Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 29(5), pp. 521-535.
DOI: 10.1139/x99-015
Abstract: Allometric equations predicting individual branch and total crown leaf area, leaf mass, and branch wood mass were developed for Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco var. glauca), ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws.), and western white pine (Pinus monticola Dougl. ex D. Don) on the Priest River Experimental Forest in northern Idaho. Whole crowns were weighed fresh in the field by crown quarter. Two antithetic random branches were sampled from each crown quarter, weighed fresh in the field, and returned to the laboratory for detailed analysis. Nonlinear weighted regression with the general allometric equation was used to estimate all parameters. For the branches, branch diameter and length, foliated length, and position in the crown explain 82-97% of the variation. Specific leaf area (leaf area/mass) differs significantly among species and increases with distance from the tree top. For whole trees, sapwood area at breast height, crown ratio and length, and crown competition factor (CCF) explain 94-99% of the variation. The assumption of linearity and constant ratio between leaf area and sapwood area held rather generally. Differences between two alternative estimators (branch summation vs. crown weighing) of total crown biomass and leaf area were not statistically significant. For stands, stand totals were estimated from the whole-tree equations and stand-inventory data. Generally, these stand estimates were intermediate between coastal forests west of the Cascades and drier forests in the rain shadow of the Rocky Mountain crest.
The dataset includes records for 64 individuals from 3 species belonging to 1 family(ies), presenting 1 functional type(s), growing in 1 condition(s) within 1 major type(s) of habitat, with data included for the following variables:
| Variable | Label | Units | N | Min | Median | Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| latitude | Latitude | deg | 64 | 48 | 48 | 48 |
| longitude | Longitude | deg | 64 | -117 | -117 | -117 |
| age | Age | yr | 64 | 95 | 95 | 95 |
| a.lf | Leaf area | m2 | 64 | 6.2 | 209 | 2198 |
| a.ssbh | Sapwood area at breast height | m2 | 63 | 0.0015 | 0.037 | 0.27 |
| a.ssbc | Sapwood area at crown base | m2 | 64 | 0.0013 | 0.022 | 0.19 |
| a.stbh | Stem area at breast height | m2 | 64 | 0.0018 | 0.096 | 0.61 |
| a.cp | Crown area | m2 | 64 | 0.83 | 10 | 49 |
| a.cs | Crown surface area | m2 | 64 | 8 | 118 | 652 |
| h.t | Height | m | 64 | 3.6 | 29 | 45 |
| h.c | Height to crown base | m | 64 | 0.23 | 13 | 24 |
| d.bh | Dbh | m | 64 | 0.048 | 0.35 | 0.88 |
| h.bh | Height of d.bh measurement | m | 64 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 |
| d.cr | Crown width | m | 64 | 1 | 3.6 | 7.9 |
| c.d | Crown depth | m | 64 | 2.5 | 14 | 33 |
| m.lf | Leaf mass | kg | 64 | 0.81 | 20 | 241 |
| m.br | Branch mass | kg | 64 | 1.8 | 73 | 1218 |
And locally within the country:
The sites sampled are:
| Location | Longitude | Latitude | Vegetation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Priest River Experimental Forest | -116.835 | 48.35167 | Temperate forest |
The growing conditions of sampled plants was:
| Location | growingCondition |
|---|---|
| Priest River Experimental Forest | field wild |
| Species | Family | Pft |
|---|---|---|
| Pinus monticola | Pinaceae | evergreen gymnosperm |
| Pinus ponderosa | Pinaceae | evergreen gymnosperm |
| Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca | Pinaceae | evergreen gymnosperm |
Sampling strategy: Trees chosen purposively to represent the full range of diameters in the nine stands sampled, avoiding obvious signs of disease or insect attack. Two sampling strategies were compared. The first used antithetic sampling of branches within crown quarters; these branches were used with branch diameter measurements throughout the crown to infer whole crown mass estimates. A second strategy was to weigh the green crown by quarters and then use the sample branches to divide total mass into its components. We thus compared a 'bottom-up' sample to a 'top-down' disaggregation.
Leaf area: Current foliage was collected from sample branches and frozen. Frozen samples were thawed and measured for projected leaf area using the Mocha image analysis program (Jandal Scientific). The sample needles where then dried in 70degC and specific leaf area was determined. SLA was then used to estimate total leaf area.
Stem cross sectional area: Determined on sawn cross-sections with image-processing software.
Height: Total height and height to to the crown base (lowest contiguous living whorl) was measured from the ground
Crown area: Estimated from branch lengths, which were estimated from regressions on diameter
Biomass: Harvested between completion of needle elongation and commencement of needle fall . Estimated by bottom-up methods from sample branches and by top-down methods from green crown weights.
Traits: Also specific leaf area, sapwood cross-sectional area and foliated length of branches.
This is how the study Monserud1999 fits in the entire dataset (grey). each colour represents a species. A legend of species names with colours is included at the end for reports with 1 < n < 20 species.
